Thursday, March 24, 2016

Review Tour: Hotel Rodeo Series by Victoria Vane


Hell on Heels, Two to Wrangle
& Beauty and the Bull Rider
Hotel Rodeo Series
By: Victoria Vane
Lyrical Shine


Blurb for HELL ON HEELS: Hotel Rodeo #1

Some Odds are Meant to be Played...

PLACE YOUR BET

The Hotel Rodeo in Las Vegas has seen better days, but managing partner Ty Morgan has come up with a way to return it to its former glory. His plan looks promising until the unthinkable happens. Suddenly Ty is working for the boss’s daughter. And Miss Monica Brandt, hot as she may be, doesn’t share his vision…

ROLL THE DICE

She left a fabulous career and a frustrated fiancĂ© in New York to move to Vegas and save her father’s investment. But now Monica is locking horns with a sexy cowboy-turned-businessman. What does Ty think he can do that she can’t? All Monica knows is that she doesn’t dare trust him—or is it herself she doesn’t trust...

AND WIN
 Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18072462-hell-on-heels

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/152536-hotel-rodeo


Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victoria_Vane
_Hell_On_Heels?id=lOqsCAAAQBAJ


Blurb for TWO TO WRANGLE: Hotel Rodeo #2

A COUNTRY BOY

Maybe having a hot and heavy affair with the boss’s daughter wasn’t the smartest move. But country boy Ty Morgan didn’t regret a moment with city girl Monica Brandt…until she left Las Vegas to return to her life in New York.  When devastating news sends her running back, Ty can’t help but open his arms.  His heart, however, is another matter.

AND A CITY GIRL

Now that Ty has what he’s always wanted—controlling interest in Hotel Rodeo—Monica is certain their time together is at an end.  Then Ty asks her to come on board as a partner.  Maybe it’s just her money he needs, but the chance to stick close to the sexy wrangler sure could make work a whole lot more interesting.

GET READY TO TANGO

Their partnership doesn’t come without a heap of problems. The two can’t agree on anything—except their iron-hot attraction.  As the hotel’s Grand Opening approaches, the truth is all too clear: Ty and Monica must find a way to mix business with pleasure if they have any shot at dancing off into the sunset together…


Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25568147-two-to-wrangle

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/152536-hotel-rodeo


Buy Links:   Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victoria_Vane_
Two_to_Wrangle?id=fBlsCQAAQBAJ



Blurb for BEAUTY AND THE BULLRIDER: Hotel Rodeo #3

When Beauty Wants A Baby

Championship bull breeder and former Texas beauty queen Delaney McCall was having a heck of a time finding a daddy for the baby she craved. A failed marriage left her with no desire for another husband, but finding the right stud to satisfy her needs presents a bigger problem that she could have imagined.

And The Bullrider Wants Beauty

After hanging up his spurs, bull rider Zac McDaniel wants nothing more than to fulfill Delaney's dream of having a family. After all, his best friend's ex has been his fantasy for years. Zac, however, has no desire to be seen as just a means to an end. And when Zac insists on doing things the "old fashioned" way, their passion explodes like a bull out of the chute…

Some Bucking Is Bound To Happen

While insisting it's all just a passing fancy, the more Delaney sees the softer side of the rough and tumble cowboy, the harder it is to keep her emotions corralled. Zac, meanwhile, is more determined than ever to prove he's what she really needs, and will do whatever it takes to tear down the mile high fence around her heart…


Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25769918-beauty-and-the-bull-rider

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/152536-hotel-rodeo


Buy Links:   Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victoria_Vane_Beauty
_and_the_Bull_Rider?id=ciDzCQAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/beauty-and-the-bull-rider


HELL ON HEELS EXCERPT
Ty Morgan jammed the elevator button three times with his thumb, and then noticing he was alone, gave the steel door a solid kick with his boot. And then another just for good measure, curses flowing in a steady stream. He didn't normally have such a short fuse, but he was so pissed he was seeing red. With Tom’s forced retirement, he knew there'd be changes, but this was just too damned much! The new boss was both clueless and color blind—to anything but red and black.
Sure the place wasn't doing as well as expected, but all of Vegas was still feeling the pain of economic recession. These things didn't fix themselves overnight. On top of that, the timing of everything had sucked, but with so much skin in the game, he and Tom would both lose their asses if they didn't let it ride. Tom had understood that—even though he'd had the most at risk. But now Tom was out of the picture and his choice of replacement didn't know her ass from a hole in the wall.
***
A dull throb had begun behind Monica’s eyes, no doubt a lingering side-effect of two weeks of sleepless nights camped outside the CCU at Desert Springs Medical Center. In desperation to ward off an imminent migraine, Monica snatched her Prada purse from the desk drawer and rummaged for an elusive bottle of Excedrin. She finally found the bottle and popped four, chasing them with the tepid dregs of a Starbucks triple espresso, not that she really needed the caffeine. She was already wired for a confrontation.
She flicked a glance at her diamond bezel Tag Aqua racer—her last birthday present to herself. The watch, the bag and even her Jimmy Choos, were all well-recognized power statements in New York, not that he'd know the difference. And he was now fifteen minutes late. She uncrossed her legs and then crossed them again, sounding her impatience in the staccato tap of a stiletto heel. Monica snatched up her phone, was about to hit redial and then threw it back down again.
She inhaled, counted to ten, and then exhaled with a huff of exasperation. Was this just some passive-aggressive strategy to unsettle her? Maybe. But then again, she was probably giving Ty Morgan way too much credit—the dumb cowboy probably didn't know how to tell time. 


TWO TO WRANGLE EXCERPT 
Kade had interposed himself between the animal and the fallen rider, while two others flanked the bull on either side. Waving and yelling, the three men distracted the manically bucking animal while the rider scrambled of the danger zone. He spun and charged Zac who barely dodged a horn. The bull then froze, stared down the arena and snorted a stream of snot, before trotting back to the chute leading to the holding pens.
Ty chuckled. “That’s one badass bull. Least he didn’t wreck.”
“What do you mean wreck?” she asked.
“A wreck is when bad shit happens, but it’s inevitable if you ride long enough. Everybody knows that. At its best, bull riding is beautiful to behold, but when things go bad, it makes your blood run cold.”
“I still can’t understand why you did it,” she said.
“Ever heard of an adrenaline junkie?” Ty asked.
“Of course,” she said. “But I always picture those as the crazy people who free climb buildings and cliff faces.”
“Not the same at all,” Ty said. “I’m not sayin’ you can’t get hurt or even killed climbing rocks or buildings, but it’s not like the rock is out to get you. If you mess with a two thousand pound bull, you’re eventually gonna get the horns. Knowing he can kill you is the ultimate adrenaline rush.”
“You’ve never struck me as a thrill seeker, Ty.”
“I’m a different man now than what I was back then. Part of the change is age and wisdom. Part of it’s a lifestyle choice. Eight years ago I chose to leave it behind.”
“Do you miss it?” she asked. “The adrenaline? The excitement?”
“Sometimes I do,” he admitted. “The bull arena is purely a male domain. There’s something raw and primitive about it. There’s not much of that kind of thing left in our modern world. I guess that’s part of the appeal—for both the competitors and spectators.”
His words made her think again of the ancient Roman gladiators.
Ty tilted his head back to the chutes. “Zac’s up next. Even with a bad wrist, that ol’ geezer will show you how it’s s’posed to be done.”
“Old geezer? He doesn’t look any older than you, Ty,” Monica remarked.
“He’s thirty-four, but that equates to ‘bout a hundred and two in bull rider years. It’s not the years but the mileage that counts in this game, and Zac’s got a lot of long hard miles.”

Excerpt# 1- BEAUTY AND THE BULL RIDER 
He leaned back on the breakfast bar, taunting her with a cocked brow. “Running away?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I think you’re afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” she asked.
“I think you’re attracted to me and it scares the shit out of you.”
 “Last night I said you were attractive, Zac. I didn’t say I was attracted to you. There’s a difference.”
“No, there isn’t. You’re splitting hairs.”
She gave a snort. “Do you really think you’re that irresistible? Your ego is as big as Ty’s.”
“C’mere.” He jerked his head in a beckoning motion.
“What for?” she asked warily.
“I think it’s time for a little test. We can end this whole debate here and now.”
“What kinda test?”
“The kiss test,” he said. “It’s real simple. I’m gonna kiss you. If you can stand there and do absolutely nothing, you win and I lose.”
“What’s the point?” she asked.
“Sexual compatibility,” he said. “If we kiss and I don’t do it for you, I’ll drop any ideas of sex with you and submit to the test tube.”
“That simple?” she said. “You’ll donate your sperm if I let you kiss me?”
“As long as you don’t respond. That means no sounds. No kissing back. No touching.”
“Just one kiss?” she said.
“One kiss.”
“How long a kiss?” she asked.
“A standard breath hold,” he replied.
“No tricks?”
He held out his bare arms. “Nothing up my sleeve.”
Slapping his wet shirt down on the counter, she upturned her face. “Okay, Zac. I’ll let you kiss me.”
Now that the moment had come, Zac’s heart hammered against his breastbone. He’d never been nervous about a kiss, but then again, a kiss had never meant all that much to him. That wasn’t to say he didn’t like kissing. It was a pleasant enough pastime, but mostly it just served as an appetizer to the main course. He suddenly realized he didn’t know if he was a good kisser or not. He’d never had to try all that hard. Most of the women he’d been with were already primed for a tumble well before the first lip lock. He’d never suffered a crisis of confidence with any woman, but this wasn’t just any woman—it was Delaney McCall, the woman he hoped to spend the rest of his life with.



HELL ON HEELS

In book one of the Hotel Rodeo series, we are introduced to Monica and Ty.  Ty has been a partner and practical adopted son of Tom Brandt for a long time.  They've got a close relationship and a deep understanding between each other.  When Tom gets ill and his daughter comes to take care of him from New York, things couldn't appear worse.  The instant chemistry between Monica and Ty is only rivaled by their animosity.  

Monica has wanted one thing in her life, to love and be loved for who she is.  She's not had the best life ever, froma mother who could care less about her, a father who didn't even know she existed during her formative years, and a recent ex-fiance who she realized, thankfully not to late, was using her in other ways. She's not sure what to do with her life, but for now she wants to take care of her father, and his best interests, even if it means clashing with his business partner, Ty. 

Ty has big plans for the hotel he shares with Tom, they've discussed and agreed to renovations and he's looking forward to starting when things are pulled under his feet.  Now he's supposed to work with the big City girl, Monica, and he's not so sure that will be possible. He knows all about her type. 

Both Ty and Monica make knee-jerk assumptions about the other and that leads to a whole lot of drama, but they also find they can't hardly stay away from teh other.  Will they be able to work it out and do what is right for her father and the hotel he loves? Or will it all go to pieces. 


TWO TO WRANGLE

This book continues Ty and Monica's story.  

While they are both coming to terms with the big changes wraught at the end of book one, they have another big misunderstanding. Things have changed in a big way, but they have also remained somewhat the same.  Ty is still in the position of needing funds to go through with the renovation plans, and Monica is still bent on getting out of Vegas. 

In this book, though these two finally work through some of their issues and gain an understanding of the other. They finally see more than their, wrong, first impresssions.  As they start working together, they are able to see more in the other person, something to build on. 

Two to Wrangle was an emotional journey for both of these characters, they did some soul searching and discovered they had more in common, and really felt for the other person than they would have beleived. And decided maybe they could give it a shot, find more than a reluctant buisness partner in the other. 

BEAUTY AND THE BULL RIDER 

Book 3 of the series gives us the story of Delany, Ty's ex wife, and Zac, one of his best friends. 

Delany wants two things in life currently, One, to be taken seriously as a bull breeder, and Two, a baby.  The first is important to her, because she wants to prove to others she can do it, that she wants to do it and she's good at it.  And she wants a baby, she doesn't want to try a marriage again, having no illusions it could work out. 

Zac has loved Delany for years, but he always thought he lost his shot at her. Now he's in Oklahoma, working for Ty, and determined to win Delany over.  Not only is he willing to give her the baby she wants, and so much more. But getting her to take a chance on him isn't easy. 

The banter between these two was hilarious, you can see how hard Delany is fighting wanting anything more from Zac or any man.  I enjoyed watching Zac soften her a bit, and get to the heart of her, proving himself over and over that he believed in her career and truly cared about her. 


I enjoyed the Hotel Rodeo series a lot. The characters were fun and the stories different. Victoria Vane has done a great job giving us the intertwined story of these characters.  




Author Info
Victoria Vane is an award winning author of smart and sexy romance. Her collective works of fiction range from historical to contemporary settings and include everything from wild comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Victoria is the founder of the Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers and the Romantic Historical Lovers book review blogs.

Author Links: 
Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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2 comments:

  1. Lovely reviews. Thank you for hosting the Hotel Rodeo series on your blog today!

    Crystal, Tasty Book Tours

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for the great reviews and for hosting my virtual tour! XO Victoria

    ReplyDelete